Expression and significance of HBx,Twist,E-cadherin and N-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of HBx,Twist,E-cadherin and N-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods The expression of HBx,Twist,E-cadherin and N-cadherin in HCC and adjacent tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry technique and the relationship with clinicopathological features was analyzed.Results The positivity rate of HBx,Twist,E-cadherin and N-cadherin were 84.7%,80.6%,52.8% and 45.8% in HCC tissues and 81.9%,51.4%,70.8% and 27.8% in adjacent tissues,respectively.There was a statistically significant difference in Twist,E-cadherin and N-cadherin between the HCC and adjacent tissues (p0.05).The expression of HBx was positively correlated with Twist and N-cadherin in HCC and adjacent tissues,respectively.E-cadherin was negatively correlated with HBx,Twist and N-cadherin.Conclusion The higher expression of HBx,Twist,N-cadherin and E-cadherin are correlated with the invasion and metastasis of HCC.HBx might promote the change of epithelial-mesenchymal transition of HCC through Twist upregulation.